CN105791679A - Method, device and mobile terminal for reducing camera power consumption - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a method, a device and a mobile terminal for reducing power consumption of a camera, wherein the method comprises the following steps: receiving a photographing preview instruction; detecting ambient brightness and focusing trigger conditions; judging whether the ambient brightness change exceeds a specified threshold value and reaches the focusing triggering condition; when the ambient brightness change does not exceed a specified threshold value and the focusing triggering condition is not met, locking an AE/AF function and an image processor ISP for a camera; otherwise, the AE/AF function and the image processor ISP for the camera are unlocked, and the environment brightness and the focusing triggering condition are detected again. According to the invention, by detecting external environment factors such as environment brightness, focusing trigger conditions and the like, AE/AF is dynamically locked or unlocked, the operation time of an AE/AF algorithm and an image processor ISP of a camera is reduced, the power consumption of the camera is reduced, the electric quantity of the mobile terminal is saved, and the battery endurance of the mobile terminal is enhanced.

Description

Method, device and mobile terminal for reducing camera power consumption

technical field

The present invention relates to the technical field of communication of mobile terminals, in particular to a method and device for reducing camera power consumption and a mobile terminal.

Background technique

With the advent of the information technology era and the continuous improvement of communication network technology, mobile terminals (or mobile phones) have become one of the most common communication tools at present. Mobile terminal products have become necessary living tools for more and more consumers because of their small size, convenient portability, complete functions and increasingly low prices.

However, due to the rapid development of electronic technology, mobile terminals are developing towards larger screens and multi-core processing. Various terminal applications and online connection anytime and anywhere will pose challenges to the continuous power supply of mobile terminals. In particular, the camera function of mobile terminals is used more and more frequently, which brings great fun and convenience to people's life and work, and the camera pixels are getting higher and higher. , anti-shake algorithm, will consume the power consumption of the mobile terminal, and pose a challenge to the continuous power supply capability of the mobile terminal.

Based on the above considerations, it is urgent to propose a method for reducing the power consumption of the camera so as to enhance the battery life of the mobile terminal.

Contents of the invention

The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings and deficiencies of the prior art, and provide a method, device and mobile terminal for reducing power consumption of a camera.

According to the disclosed embodiments, the first aspect of the present invention proposes a method for reducing power consumption of a camera, the method comprising:

Receive photo preview command;

Detect ambient brightness and focus trigger conditions;

Judging whether the ambient brightness change exceeds a specified threshold and meets the focus trigger condition;

When the ambient brightness change does not exceed the specified threshold and the focus trigger condition is not met, the AE/AF function and the camera image processor ISP are locked.

Further, the detection environment brightness and focus trigger conditions are specifically:

The change of the ambient light brightness is detected by a light sensor.

Further, the detection environment brightness and focus trigger conditions are specifically:

Whether the focus trigger condition is satisfied is detected by a focus algorithm of gyroscope detection or preview image processing.

Further, the method also includes:

When the ambient brightness change exceeds the specified threshold or/and the focus trigger condition is reached, unlock the AE/AF function and the camera image processor ISP, and return to the step of detecting the ambient brightness and the focus trigger condition.

Further, the focus algorithm of the preview image processing includes a defocus depth method and a focus depth method.

According to the disclosed embodiments, the second aspect of the present invention provides a device for reducing power consumption of a camera, the device comprising:

An instruction receiving module is used to receive a camera preview instruction;

Condition detection module, used to detect ambient brightness and focus trigger conditions;

A judging module, configured to judge whether the ambient brightness change exceeds a specified threshold and meets the focus trigger condition;

The first execution module is used to lock the AE/AF function and the camera image processor ISP when the ambient brightness change does not exceed a specified threshold and the focus trigger condition is not met.

Further, the condition detection module includes:

The first detection unit is configured to detect the change of the ambient light brightness through a light sensor.

Further, the condition detection module includes:

The second detection unit is configured to detect whether the focus trigger condition is met through gyroscope detection or a focus algorithm of preview image processing.

Further, the device also includes:

The second execution module is used to unlock the AE/AF function and the camera image processor ISP when the change of the ambient brightness exceeds a specified threshold or/and the focus trigger condition is reached, and return to the condition detection module.

According to the following disclosed embodiments, a third aspect of the present invention provides a mobile terminal, where the mobile terminal includes the above-mentioned apparatus for reducing power consumption of a camera.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages and effects:

1) The present invention proposes a method for effectively reducing camera power consumption. By detecting external environmental factors such as ambient brightness and focus trigger conditions, AE/AF is dynamically locked or unlocked, and AE/AF algorithms and camera image processor ISP operations are reduced. time, reducing camera power consumption.

2) A method for reducing power consumption of the camera proposed by the present invention can significantly reduce the power consumption of the camera, avoid the power consumption of the mobile terminal, and enhance the battery life of the mobile terminal.

Description of drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following will briefly introduce the drawings that need to be used in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only the drawings of the present invention. For some embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art can also obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any creative effort.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for reducing power consumption of a camera disclosed in Embodiment 1;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of another method for reducing camera power consumption disclosed in Embodiment 1;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of another method for reducing camera power consumption disclosed in Embodiment 1;

FIG. 4 is a structural block diagram of a device for reducing camera power consumption disclosed in Embodiment 2;

FIG. 5 is a structural block diagram of another device for reducing camera power consumption disclosed in Embodiment 2;

FIG. 6 is a structural block diagram of another device for reducing power consumption of a camera disclosed in the second embodiment.

detailed description

In order to make the object, technical solution and advantages of the present invention more clear and definite, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described here are only used to explain the present invention, not to limit the present invention.

The terms "first", "second", "third" and "fourth" in the specification and claims of the present invention and the above drawings are used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. Furthermore, the terms "include" and "have", as well as any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product or device comprising a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally also includes unlisted steps or units, or optionally further includes For other steps or units inherent in these processes, methods, products or apparatuses.

The detailed description will be given below based on the examples.

Embodiment one

Please refer to FIG. 1 . FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for reducing power consumption of a camera disclosed in the first embodiment. A method for reducing camera power consumption shown in Figure 1 is applied to smart mobile terminals, including but not limited to mobile phones, notebook computers, tablet computers and handheld Internet devices, multimedia devices, streaming media devices, mobile Internet Devices (MID, mobileinternetdevice), wearable devices or other types of terminal devices.

As shown in Figure 1, a method for reducing camera power consumption disclosed in this embodiment includes the following steps:

Step S101, receiving a camera preview instruction;

In a specific application, when the user wants to take a photo through the mobile terminal, he can click on the camera-related APP application on the mobile terminal to start the camera and initiate a photo preview request.

There are many ways to input the above photo preview request. It can be triggered by the user clicking the photo button on the screen of the mobile terminal or the physical button on the side of the mobile terminal, or it can be triggered when the terminal is in the delayed photo mode and the photo delay of the terminal arrives. of.

Step S102, detecting ambient brightness and focus trigger conditions;

In another preferred implementation manner, the step S102 in the method for reducing power consumption of the camera includes detecting ambient brightness and focusing trigger conditions:

Step S1021. Detect the change of the ambient light brightness through a light sensor.

The brightness of the ambient light can be obtained by using the light sensor to obtain the light sensing value in the direction of the ambient light to be detected.

The light value sensor is mainly composed of a photoresistor and a data transmission line. Return the intensity of the light to the terminal device in the form of resistance value.

Ambient light brightness includes absolute brightness and relative brightness, wherein the absolute brightness refers to the light intensity at which the eyes can perceive light. The human eye is very sensitive at an absolute value of 0.3 one billionth of a candela/square foot. A fully dark-adapted human can see fires as far as 50 miles away.

Relative brightness means that for general use, absolute brightness is of little significance, while relative brightness is more meaningful. Relative brightness refers to the contrast relationship between light intensity and background, called relative value. In a dark background, very low light can be seen clearly, but in a bright background, the same light may not be seen. This phenomenon can be illustrated with the example of not being able to see stars during the day.

It can be seen from the above that the light perception is not only related to the intensity of light, but also related to the size of the light range, and is directly proportional to it.

In another preferred implementation manner, the step S102 in the method for reducing power consumption of the camera further includes:

Step S1022. Detect the focus trigger condition through gyroscope detection or focus algorithm of preview image processing.

The gyroscope, also known as the angular velocity sensor, is different from the accelerometer (G-sensor), which measures the rotational angular velocity during deflection and tilt. On the mobile terminal, the gyroscope can prevent the hand shake from affecting the photo quality, record the hand shake when the shutter is pressed, and feed back the shake to the image processor to capture clearer and more stable pictures, allowing the focus system to Faster and more accurate. At the same time, the data of the gyroscope can also be used as the condition for triggering the focus when the camera takes pictures. When the gyroscope detects that the shaking of the mobile terminal is within an unacceptable range, the focus trigger condition is met.

The focus trigger condition can also be realized based on the focus algorithm of the preview image processing. The current mobile terminal cameras are all through the digital imaging system, and the condition for realizing automatic focus is also the method of applying digital image processing. The main focusing algorithms include: defocus depth method and focus depth method.

The defocus depth method is a method to obtain depth information from the defocus image to complete autofocus. This method needs to obtain 2-3 images under different imaging parameters, and also requires a digital model to describe the imaging system in advance, and then calculate the best focus position based on the images acquired from a small number of imaging positions. Because the number of images required by the depth-of-focus method is small, the number of images obtained by mechanical mechanisms such as drive motors is greatly reduced, so the speed is faster.

The focus depth method is mainly a focus method based on the search process. It evaluates the sharpness of images obtained at different focus positions by selecting an appropriate focus evaluation function, and the maximum sharpness value corresponds to the best focus position. This method needs to determine the distance from the object to the phase surface of the detector through a series of images with gradually accurate focus. Generally, it needs to search 10-12 images to find this position accurately. The more images used, the higher the focus accuracy. Among them, commonly used focus evaluation functions: sharpness evaluation function, gray gradient function, multiplication function, frequency domain function, etc.

Refer to FIG. 2 for a flow chart of reducing camera power consumption including the above steps S1021 and S1022.

Step S103, judging whether the ambient brightness change exceeds a specified threshold and meets the focus trigger condition;

According to the detection result of the above step S102, judge whether the ambient brightness change exceeds the specified threshold and whether the focus trigger condition is met, and then determine whether to lock the AE/AF function and the image processor ISP for the camera according to the judgment result, so as to reduce the power consumption of the mobile terminal and increase processing speed.

Step S104 , when the ambient brightness change does not exceed the specified threshold and the focus trigger condition is not met, lock the AE/AF function and the camera image processor ISP.

AE is the camera's automatic exposure, and AF is the camera's automatic focus. AE/AF lock is to lock the current exposure value and focus value. When the camera is taking pictures, the function of AE/AF lock is to lock the focus and exposure at the same time. This function is the following situation in the actual use of SLR cameras: if you half-press the shutter to lock the focus and hold down the AE-L/AF-L button to lock AE/AF, you can lock the aperture of the user's camera, the reading of the shutter, and The focus point of the user's camera. At this point, the camera will follow your focus and exposure procedures until the user turns this button or presses the user's shutter.

ISP (ImageSignalProcessing) image signal processing is mainly used to output signal processing units for front-end image sensors to match image sensors from different manufacturers.

The camera image processor ISP (ImageSignalProcessor) is a pipelined image processing engine that can process image signals at high speed. It is also equipped with a dedicated circuit for AutoExposure/AutoFocus/AutoWhiteBalance evaluation, enabling each CMOS sensor to achieve the highest image quality.

After locking the AE/AF function and the image processor ISP for the camera, if the mobile terminal receives a camera instruction input by the user, the mobile terminal bypasses the AE/AF function and the ISP for the image processor for the camera, and directly follows the subsequent function module of the camera Generates a camera image output in the specified format.

In another preferred embodiment, the method for reducing camera power consumption also includes:

Step S105 , when the environmental brightness change exceeds a specified threshold or/and the focus trigger condition is reached, unlock the AE/AF function and the camera image processor ISP, and return to step S102 .

In this step, when the change in the ambient brightness exceeds the specified threshold or/and reaches the focus trigger condition, it means that the ambient brightness changes drastically when the camera is taking pictures or other situations that are not suitable for taking clear photos, and the camera needs to be turned on Automatic exposure, automatic focus, and image processor ISP carry out calculation and processing, so that the mobile terminal camera can take pictures that users are satisfied with.

Please refer to FIG. 3 for the flow chart including the above step S105.

In summary, after locking the AE/AF function and the camera image processor ISP, the frequent AE/AF algorithm and the camera image processor ISP work of the mobile terminal camera when taking pictures are avoided, and the power consumption of the camera is reduced. The battery power of the mobile terminal is saved, and the battery life of the mobile terminal is enhanced.

Embodiment two

For the purpose of reducing the power consumption of the mobile terminal camera when taking pictures and improving the processing speed of taking pictures, this embodiment proposes a device for reducing power consumption of the camera, which dynamically locks Or unlock AE/AF, reduce AE/AF algorithm, camera image processor ISP running time, reduce camera power consumption, the structural block diagram of the device for reducing camera power consumption disclosed in the second embodiment is shown in Figure 4, described The device includes: an instruction receiving module 201, a condition detection module 202, a judgment module 203 and a first execution module 204; wherein,

The instruction receiving module 201 is used to receive the photo preview instruction;

In a specific application, when the user wants to take a photo through the mobile terminal, he can click on the camera-related APP application on the mobile terminal to start the camera and initiate a photo preview request.

There are many ways to input the above photo preview request. It can be triggered by the user clicking the photo button on the screen of the mobile terminal or the physical button on the side of the mobile terminal, or it can be triggered when the terminal is in the delayed photo mode and the photo delay of the terminal arrives. of.

A condition detection module 202, configured to detect ambient brightness and focus trigger conditions;

Wherein, the condition detection module 202 includes a first detection unit 2021 and a second detection unit 2022,

In a specific application, the first detection unit 2021 is configured to detect the change of the ambient light brightness through a light sensor.

The brightness of the ambient light can be obtained by using the light sensor to obtain the light sensing value in the direction of the ambient light to be detected.

The light value sensor is mainly composed of a photoresistor and a data transmission line. Return the intensity of the light to the terminal device in the form of resistance value.

Ambient light brightness includes absolute brightness and relative brightness, wherein the absolute brightness refers to the light intensity at which the eyes can perceive light. Relative brightness means that for general use, absolute brightness is of little significance, while relative brightness is more meaningful.

It can be seen from the above that the light perception is not only related to the intensity of light, but also related to the size of the light range, and is directly proportional to it.

In a specific application, the second detection unit 2022 is configured to detect the focus trigger condition through gyroscope detection or focus algorithm of preview image processing.

The gyroscope, also known as the angular velocity sensor, is different from the accelerometer (G-sensor), which measures the rotational angular velocity during deflection and tilt. On the mobile terminal, the gyroscope can prevent the hand shake from affecting the photo quality, record the hand shake when the shutter is pressed, and feed back the shake to the image processor to capture clearer and more stable pictures, allowing the focus system to Faster and more accurate. At the same time, the data of the gyroscope can also be used as the condition for triggering the focus when the camera takes pictures. When the gyroscope detects that the shaking of the mobile terminal is within an unacceptable range, the focus trigger condition is met.

The focus trigger condition can also be realized based on the focus algorithm of the preview image processing. The current mobile terminal cameras are all through the digital imaging system, and the condition for realizing automatic focus is also the method of applying digital image processing. The main focusing algorithms include: defocus depth method and focus depth method.

A structural block diagram of a device for reducing power consumption of a camera including the first detection unit 2021 and the second detection unit 2022 is shown in FIG. 5 .

A judging module 203, configured to judge whether the ambient brightness change exceeds a specified threshold and meets the focusing trigger condition;

According to the detection result of the above-mentioned condition detection module 202, this module judges whether the ambient brightness change exceeds the specified threshold value and whether the focus trigger condition is satisfied, and then determines whether the subsequent first execution module locks the AE/AF function and the camera image processing according to the judgment result. ISP to reduce the power consumption of the mobile terminal and increase the processing rate.

The first execution module 204 is configured to lock the AE/AF function and the camera image processor ISP when the ambient brightness change does not exceed a specified threshold and the focus trigger condition is not met.

AE is the camera's automatic exposure, and AF is the camera's automatic focus. AE/AF lock is to lock the current exposure value and focus value.

ISP (ImageSignalProcessing) image signal processing is mainly used to output signal processing units for front-end image sensors to match image sensors from different manufacturers.

After locking the AE/AF function and the image processor ISP for the camera, if the mobile terminal receives a camera instruction input by the user, the mobile terminal bypasses the AE/AF function and the ISP for the image processor for the camera, and directly follows the subsequent function module of the camera Generates a camera image output in the specified format.

In a further preferred embodiment, the device for reducing camera power consumption disclosed in this embodiment further includes:

The second execution module 205 is used for unlocking the AE/AF function and the camera image processor ISP when the ambient brightness change exceeds a specified threshold or/and the focus trigger condition is reached, and returns to the condition detection module 202 .

In this module, when the change of the ambient brightness exceeds the specified threshold or/and reaches the focus trigger condition, it means that the ambient brightness changes drastically when the camera is taking pictures or other situations that are not suitable for taking clear photos, the camera needs to turn on the automatic Exposure, auto-focus, and image processor ISP carry out calculation and processing, so that the mobile terminal camera can take pictures that users are satisfied with.

Please refer to FIG. 6 for a device for reducing camera power consumption including the above-mentioned second execution module 205 .

An embodiment of the present invention also provides a mobile terminal, specifically including an apparatus for reducing power consumption of a camera as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 .

Based on the same inventive concept, the device and mobile terminal for reducing power consumption of the camera provided by the embodiment of the present invention are similar in principle to the aforementioned method for reducing power consumption of the camera, so the implementation of the device and the mobile terminal can refer to the aforementioned method For the implementation of the above-described specific working process of the modules and units, reference may be made to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not repeated here.

To sum up, in the device for reducing camera power consumption and the mobile terminal disclosed in this embodiment, the instruction receiving module 201, the condition detection module 202, the judgment module 203, and the first execution module 204 in the above-mentioned device work in cooperation with each other. The receiving module 201 receives the camera preview instruction input by the user, and then through the first detection unit 2021 and the second detection unit 2022 in the condition detection module 202, the light sensor detects the change of the ambient light brightness and the gyroscope detection or preview image processing respectively. The focus algorithm detects whether the focus trigger condition is satisfied, and then the judging module 203 judges whether the ambient brightness change exceeds a specified threshold and meets the focus trigger condition, and finally the first execution module 204 determines whether the ambient brightness change does not exceed When the specified threshold value is not reached and the focus trigger condition is not reached, the AE/AF function and the image processor ISP for the camera are locked or the second execution module 205 is used when the change of the ambient brightness exceeds the specified threshold value or/and the focus trigger condition is reached , unlock the AE/AF function and the camera image processor ISP, and return to the condition detection module 202 . The device dynamically locks or unlocks AE/AF by detecting external environmental factors such as ambient brightness and focus trigger conditions, reduces AE/AF algorithm, camera image processor ISP running time, reduces camera power consumption, and enhances battery life of mobile terminals Battery life improves the user's operating experience.

In each method embodiment of the present invention, the sequence number of each step can not be used to limit the order of each step. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the order of each step can be changed without paying creative work. Also within the protection scope of the present invention.

For the specific working process of the modules and units described above, reference may be made to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not repeated here.

It is worth noting that in the above-mentioned device and terminal embodiments, the modules and units included are only divided according to functional logic, but are not limited to the above-mentioned divisions, as long as the corresponding functions can be realized; in addition, each module The specific names of the units and units are only for the convenience of distinguishing each other, and are not used to limit the protection scope of the present invention.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods may be implemented in other ways. For example, the terminal embodiments described above are only illustrative. For example, the division of the modules or units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components can be Incorporation may either be integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not implemented. In another point, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of modules or units may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

In addition, each functional module or unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated into one processing module or unit, each module or unit may exist separately physically, or two or more modules or units may be integrated into one processing module or unit. module or unit.

The above-mentioned embodiment is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited by the above-mentioned embodiment, and any other changes, modifications, substitutions, combinations, Simplifications should be equivalent replacement methods, and all are included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. A method for reducing camera power consumption, characterized in that the method comprises: Receive photo preview command; Detect ambient brightness and focus trigger conditions; Judging whether the ambient brightness change exceeds a specified threshold and meets the focus trigger condition; When the ambient brightness change does not exceed the specified threshold and the focus trigger condition is not met, the AE/AF function and the camera image processor ISP are locked. 2. A method for reducing power consumption of a camera according to claim 1, wherein the detection environment brightness and focus trigger conditions are specifically: The change of the ambient light brightness is detected by a light sensor. 3. A method for reducing power consumption of a camera according to claim 1, wherein the detection environment brightness and focus trigger conditions are specifically: The focus trigger condition is detected by a gyroscope detection or a focus algorithm of preview image processing. 4. A method for reducing camera power consumption according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: When the ambient brightness change exceeds the specified threshold or/and the focus trigger condition is reached, unlock the AE/AF function and the camera image processor ISP, and return to the step of detecting the ambient brightness and the focus trigger condition. 5. A method for reducing power consumption of a camera according to claim 3, wherein the focus algorithm of the preview image processing includes a defocus depth method and a focus depth method. 6. A device for reducing camera power consumption, characterized in that the device comprises: An instruction receiving module is used to receive a camera preview instruction; Condition detection module, used to detect ambient brightness and focus trigger conditions; A judging module, configured to judge whether the ambient brightness change exceeds a specified threshold and meets the focus trigger condition; The first execution module is configured to lock the AE/AF function and the camera image processor ISP when the ambient brightness change does not exceed a specified threshold and the focus trigger condition is not met. 7. A device for reducing camera power consumption according to claim 6, wherein the condition detection module comprises: The first detection unit is configured to detect the change of the ambient light brightness through a light sensor. 8. A device for reducing camera power consumption according to claim 6, wherein the condition detection module comprises: The second detection unit is configured to detect the focus trigger condition through gyroscope detection or focus algorithm of preview image processing. 9. A device for reducing camera power consumption according to claim 6, characterized in that the device further comprises: The second execution module is used to unlock the AE/AF function and the camera image processor ISP when the change of the ambient brightness exceeds a specified threshold or/and the focus trigger condition is reached, and return to the condition detection module. 10. A mobile terminal, comprising the device for reducing power consumption of a camera according to any one of claims 6 to 9.